Marie’s daily verse: Psalm 33:4: 

For the word of the LORD holds true,and we can trust everything he does.

DAILY DEVOTION. August 14, 2023

God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble (James 4:6).

In a few words, James presents us with a profound truth. Some people will find that God resists them.  They are proud. Others will find that they are the recipients of God’s grace. They are humble. This is one of those spiritual truths that operates around the clock. God always resists the proud and always gives grace to the humble.

I don’t know this for sure, having never been to Australia, but I understand there are tiny spiders there who have very colorful abdomens. They are called peacock spiders. The males try to impress the females by showing off their bright cores.

Some of us are like these spiders. We want to draw attention to ourselves by displaying our brilliant minds, bodies, talents, wealth, or whatever. The effort to draw attention to ourselves may impress people, but God is not impressed. So pride always puts us at odds with God, which is not a good place to be! 

If you wish to receive God’s grace, His unmerited favor, that blessing is reserved for the humble. The humble are those who are not seeking to exalt themselves. They are often embarrassed when others seek to praise them. Instead, they seek to use their gifts to honor God even if no one else notices.

Gracious Father, I ask You to help me turn aside from pride. Help me to look continually at the life of Jesus and thus to be driven to humility before Him.  In His name, I pray, Amen. 

Marie’s dai;y verse: Psalm 150:6 NLT: 

Let everything that breathes sing praises to the Lord.

DAILY DEVOTION, August 13, 2023

We continue with God’s opinion of a fool in the Book of Proverbs. First, I need to say that the fool is not an atheist.  Solomon is writing to Israel, the people of the covenant.  He is writing to believers. The fool believes in God but lives apart from God’s commands. The result is predictable. He not only falls into sin, but he also enjoys it. Notice Proverbs 10:23 (NKJV)  “To do evil is like sport to a fool,But a man of understanding has wisdom.” The fool may be a most enjoyable fellow. He loves to party, to enjoy life.  He never stops to consider that much of his enjoyment is contrary to the will of God.  If something pleases him, he does it.  Evil is a sport.  He never stops to consider what it will be like for him when he stands before the judgment throne of God. God does not enter into his life decisions even though he professes to be a believer. We need to ask, “Am I a person of understanding or a fool?”  

Father, there is much in Your Book of Proverbs about the fool. I pray that I will not lapse into foolish behavior, living as though Your will is unimportant. Nothing is more important than You and Your will. May my life always honor You and Your Son, in whose name I pray. Amen.

Marie;s daily verse: 1 Chronicles 7:14: If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.

DAILY DEVOTION, August 12, 2023

More on the fool. A fool is a person with a divine learning disability. The truth of God is just as available for him as it is for the spiritually wise. Look at Proverbs 18:2 (NKJV)  “A fool has no delight in understanding,But in expressing his own heart.”  The spiritual fool is interested in one thing: his own ideas.  He hears divine truth but takes no delight in it.  Proverbs 10:8 gives us the consequences. “The wise in heart will receive commands, But a prating fool will fall.”  The fool loves the sound of his voice and babbles on and on with his verbal silliness, speaking of things that have no ultimate importance. He will not receive the commands of God, and as a result, he falls. He falls farther and farther away from God and divine truth.  Once a human decides, “There is no God,” he lapses deeper into foolishness.  To be a fool is foolishness!

Father, may my heart be open to Your Word. When I speak, please help me to avoid being a fool. I want to speak in harmony with divine wisdom. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Marie’s daily verse: 1 Timothy 2:5: For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus.

DAILY DEVOTION, August 20, 2023

You are my friends, if you do what I command.”  (John 15:14).

Are you a friend of Jesus? There can be no better friend. We have accepted Him as Savior and Lord. We have been forgiven of all our sins. What is our response to His great love? Should we obey our Lord? Obedience is the key to friendship. As we seek to obey Him, we prove our friendship. One of our favorite old hymns is “What a Friend we have in Jesus” Can you sing that hymn with integrity?  Can I? Disobedience to Christ is a sign that our faith is weak. Another hymn has the line, “Trust and obey, for there’s no other way, to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.” Are you happy? You are if Jesus is your friend. 

Father, help me to demonstrate my faith by my obedience to Jesus. I want to be His friend. Amen. 

Marie’s daily verse: but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint (Isaiah 40:31).

DAILY DEVOTION, July 29, 2023

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come”(2 Corinthians 5:17).

Paul defines a Christian as a person who is “in Christ?” So how do we achieve that goal? The simple answer is “by faith.” John writes, “Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God” (1 John 4:15). When we confess our faith in Jesus, God abides in us. We are “in Christ.” But how do I know if my confession of faith is genuine? There are hypocrites in the church, people who give lip service to Jesus but do not truly trust Him. Paul writes that those whose faith is genuine, without hypocrisy, become new creatures. Our old way of living fades away. A new way of living as disciples of Jesus emerges. That does not mean we become perfect. It does not mean we live a life free from sin. I believe it means that our life heads in a new direction. Those who are in Christ sincerely want to please Him. When they realize they have sinned, they quickly confess and repent.

The old life of self-centeredness and selfishness has passed away. Yes, at times, we may struggle with faithfulness. Our old selfish ways emerge. But the presence of the indwelling Christ begins to move us in new directions. So, we must ask this: am I aware that my life has changed dramatically since becoming a Christian?  Do I sincerely desire to please the Lord? If you can answer “yes” to those questions, it is a sign that you have become a new creature in Christ.

Prayer: Thank You, Lord, that You enter into a relationship with us. You do not redeem us and then leave us to our own devices. You abide with us and in us. Thank You for the new life You bring to us. Forgive us when we close our ears to You and walk in our old ways. May our hearts ever be open to Your guidance. In Jesus’ name, Amen